David Fizdale came to Beale Street preaching too much Miami gospel and not enough Memphis blues.
Fizdale’s final undoing with the Grizzlies was a feud with star center Marc Gasol that escalated last November, leading to his dismissal at 7-12, but it was much more.
Parroting his mentor Pat Riley, Fizdale was hell-bent on changing a culture and style of “Grind City’’ play that had led to six straight prior playoff appearances. Not just Gasol was unsettled.
Brevin Knight, a former NBA point guard from East Orange, N.J., saw the “disconnection” unravel as a longtime Grizzlies television broadcaster.